The Football Association of Malawi (Fam) has accused government of going against its initial stance on issues related to the hiring of Kalisto Pasuwa as Malawi National Football Team coach.
Government, through Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS), has halted the recruitment process after noticing that Fam hired Pasuwa without following procedures such as advertising, shortlisting and interviewing the coach.
Fam Chief Executive Officer Alfred Gunda said the association was surprised by the stand as MNCS Chief Executive Officer Henry Kamata had cleared them on the matter.
Gunda alleged that both parties already agreed on the matter three weeks ago in a meeting.
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“For Fam, it comes as a surprise that council is speaking like this, three weeks after the same recognised the dynamics of approaches to recruitment. Maybe the question should be: what has changed with MNCS?
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“On our part, the letter they have written to us to explain which of the processes we used is clear and I find it is not supposed to be tantamount to talk about halting processes,” he said.
Gunda said the association wrote Sports Council, outlining Fam’s resolution and then made a request for guidance on the commitment of government to contribute towards remuneration.
“For us, that is important for purposes of putting a plan for the financing of the position. This was done with a clear understanding that was arrived at during a meeting that the Minister of Sports convened three weeks ago,” Gunda said.
Kamata was unreachable Monday.
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The council CEO told The Nation Newspaper Monday that they wanted a normal recruitment process to be followed.
“They [Fam] wrote us informing us about their decision to hire Pasuwa and we have responded to them that since part of the incoming coach’s remuneration will come from government, then they will have to follow normal hiring processes.
“This means they need to flight an advert, short-list applicants and arrange interviews to choose the successful candidate. That is how it ought to be done, otherwise they cannot appoint someone for a public office as it will involve public resources. So, proper channels need to be followed,” Kamata was quoted as saying.
Pasuwa has reportedly accepted the job as Flames coach but he is yet to put pen to paper.
